Yearly Archives: 2013

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On February 4th, local authorities and villagers gathered at the pagoda to pay their final respects to the late King Sihanouk. The king, who passed away in November, was cremated in Phnom Penh after a three-month period of mourning and rememberance. Everyone was very honored to be part of this final ceremony for their beloved king.

A few days later, the Ministry of Culture & Fine Arts and Global Heritage Fund agreed to a 3-year MoU. The final phase of the conservation project will concentrate on reconstructing the west gallery of Banteay Chhmar Temple. Meanwhile, inside the temple, the major work on Tower #18 has been completed and the scaffolding is being removed. The tower bears an excellent Bayon-style face. We all look forward to working with Kim Sothin and other ministry officials on the successful completion of this wonderful conservation work.

Finally, officials from the Ministry of Forestryheld a meeting to discuss a potential project. They would like to start a tree-planting project whereby visitors will have the opportunity to make a donation and “plant a tree” in the temple or in the community. The details still need to be worked out, but we think a lot of visitors will be interested in this project. It will help the environment, provide some additional income to villagers for managing the project and add some savings into the CBT community fund.

January has been a very quiet month here in Banteay Chhmar. Despite the quietness, the villagers are still busy with the cassava harvest. This crop serves as an important dry season crop and source of income. The cassava is mostly exported and processed into biofuel. It is also used in food production.

Cassava cutting in Banteay Chhmar

We have gotten off to a very good start with visitors this year. In January, the CBT welcomed more than 100 visitors. We are looking forward to greeting everyone who can come and visit us this year.

And, one more note. The road from Sisophon to Banteay Chhmar is in good condition now. The drive should only take about one hour.